Curated by our very own local coordinator Asia Sageman, the training included a series of three talks, a DIY upcycle activity using old Hazon Ride T-shirts, and a vegetarian-vegan lunch. Jeff Henderson from the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University (ISEN) gave a talk on sustainability policy at large institutions. Participants also heard from Brad Sageman, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, on the science of climate change. Ilana Braverman from Jewish Initiative for Animals (JIFA) also taught the Chicago cohort about how to create a sustainable food policy at their respective organizations. Talks were recorded and will be added to our resource bank, to be shared with the Hazon Seal network. Want to join our awesome network of Jewish institutions and communities dedicated to respond to the environmental crisis? Learn about the Hazon seal of Sustainability program here: Hazon.org/seal

Jeff Henderson from the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern University (ISEN) giving a talk on sustainability policy at large institutions. Participants also heard from Brad Sageman, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences on the science of climate change.

As you can see, it’s challenging to avoid plastics when catering and not preparing the food ourselves. Our lunch, however, was mostly vegetarian/plant-based, no food was wasted, and all plastic-looking items were either composted or recycled. This is a journey, and we plan to work as a cohort to move the needle on sustainable packaging and increasing plant based options among Chicagoland Kosher food providers. Want to help? Contact us at seal.chicago@hazon.org

Ilana Braverman from Jewish Initiative for Animals (jewishinitiativeforanimals.org) teaching the Chicago cohort about how to create a sustainable food policy at their organizations.

Check out the sustainable DIY project that we did as a group! This activity is a great idea for reusing a beloved shirt that you outgrew or is no longer in good-enough shape, while providing a perfect replacement for terrible plastic grocery bags!

Our Chicago coordinator Asia Sageman showing off her new T-shirt bag, as our cohort members are hard at work upcycling old Hazon ride T-shirts! Try it yourself and in your community: https://thethingswellmake.com/recycled-t-shirt-bags-review-of-7-ways/

Also, our Chicago coordinator Asia Sageman made cool wax food wrapping cloths and gifted them to our hard-working environmentalists (thank you Asia!). This is a great alternative to plastic food wraps, check out these bees-wax and bee-less options in this online DIY guide! Here’s a great website for buying your own.

Our youngest cohort member from Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue holding up the T-shirt bag she made during the sustainable DIY project!